Construction Sites, Things Fall Apart and Nigeria
So, I just put coffee in a glass. In a glass people. And this was in spite of the fact that I know glass can actually break when you pour liquid into it that's too hot.
As you can tell, I'm getting a little bit desperate - this summer our house has turned into a bit of a construction site, since my parents decided they wanted a completely new veranda, on top of completely new windows. I haven't been able to use our kitchen in three days and at this point I'm beginning to feel the caffeine withdrawal. So, coffee in a glass it is! (I was bold and stole the coffee out of one of the drawers my mother had sealed air-tight ... but psssst!) The downside is, it's black coffee, since I couldn't get the milk out of the fridge. I suppose this will have to be this night's shenanigan ...
Reading-wise, I've also had an exciting week, since I finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It's an amazing novel, honestly - it depicts the life in an Igbo village in Nigeria before and during colonisation by focussing on one man and his family in particular. The fascinating thing is that the book actually comes down critical on both sides though, namely on the main character as well as the Christian missionaries. It's not a black and white thing at all, which makes the story seem all the more real to me.
For honesty's sake, I should tell you though that this wasn't an easy book to get into at first. The author uses a lot of Igbo words and phrases in his narration, which are very confusing in the beginning. But don't let that deter you, if you do decide to read this book as well! The more chapters I read, the more I fell in love with the inclusion of these words and phrases - it really adds to the atmosphere of the novel. And besides, it's not like I don't do the same in everyday language, only with English and French. Sometimes words in another language just fit certain concepts better. And that's certainly true for words like chi, which in Igbo apparently means a kind of personal deity that watches over you.
Anyway, so I came away really loving this book, and then I realised that I know absolutely nothing about Nigeria ... So I went and did some research and then made a powerpoint presentation about it! (You would be wrong in thinking that I have too much time on my hands ...)
Can you believe that there are actually 182 million people living in Nigeria, which makes it the most populous country in Africa (7th most populous in the world!)? I had no clue! (And neither did my best friend - she thought more along the lines of 18 million ...) And then there all these different ethnic groups living in the same country - more than 500 with more than 500 languages! It's just mind-boggling! Although it really does explain why Achebe chose to write his novel in English: he said himself that he viewed English as a tool to enable all Nigerians to speak to each other, no matter their first language. Thus, by writing in English he hoped to reach every Nigerian citizen, I believe.
The reason why there's this blue arrow on the right is that I wanted to point out the setting of the story: it's set in an Igbo village, after all, and the Igbo people apparently primarily live in that light-brownish area. They're the third biggest ehtnic group in the country by the way - after Yoruba and Hausa. Quite impressive I think ;).
I've actually made a couple more slides about Nigeria with pictures of the country as well as a detailed character map of the novel, but I'll spare you I think ;). I'll let out my inner Mad Hatter another day.
For now I'll leave you with this Sherlock video to Ed Sheeran's Photograph, which has had me captivated for the last couple of days:
... Okay, I lied, there's one more thing, namely this song:
I JUST LOVE IT! It's got the right kind of soothing sadness (I don't care if that's an oxymoron) to it and it makes me go UGGGH every time I hear it. I hope it can do the same for you!
But anyway, that's it now - see you! :D
As you can tell, I'm getting a little bit desperate - this summer our house has turned into a bit of a construction site, since my parents decided they wanted a completely new veranda, on top of completely new windows. I haven't been able to use our kitchen in three days and at this point I'm beginning to feel the caffeine withdrawal. So, coffee in a glass it is! (I was bold and stole the coffee out of one of the drawers my mother had sealed air-tight ... but psssst!) The downside is, it's black coffee, since I couldn't get the milk out of the fridge. I suppose this will have to be this night's shenanigan ...
Reading-wise, I've also had an exciting week, since I finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It's an amazing novel, honestly - it depicts the life in an Igbo village in Nigeria before and during colonisation by focussing on one man and his family in particular. The fascinating thing is that the book actually comes down critical on both sides though, namely on the main character as well as the Christian missionaries. It's not a black and white thing at all, which makes the story seem all the more real to me.
For honesty's sake, I should tell you though that this wasn't an easy book to get into at first. The author uses a lot of Igbo words and phrases in his narration, which are very confusing in the beginning. But don't let that deter you, if you do decide to read this book as well! The more chapters I read, the more I fell in love with the inclusion of these words and phrases - it really adds to the atmosphere of the novel. And besides, it's not like I don't do the same in everyday language, only with English and French. Sometimes words in another language just fit certain concepts better. And that's certainly true for words like chi, which in Igbo apparently means a kind of personal deity that watches over you.
Anyway, so I came away really loving this book, and then I realised that I know absolutely nothing about Nigeria ... So I went and did some research and then made a powerpoint presentation about it! (You would be wrong in thinking that I have too much time on my hands ...)
Can you believe that there are actually 182 million people living in Nigeria, which makes it the most populous country in Africa (7th most populous in the world!)? I had no clue! (And neither did my best friend - she thought more along the lines of 18 million ...) And then there all these different ethnic groups living in the same country - more than 500 with more than 500 languages! It's just mind-boggling! Although it really does explain why Achebe chose to write his novel in English: he said himself that he viewed English as a tool to enable all Nigerians to speak to each other, no matter their first language. Thus, by writing in English he hoped to reach every Nigerian citizen, I believe.
The reason why there's this blue arrow on the right is that I wanted to point out the setting of the story: it's set in an Igbo village, after all, and the Igbo people apparently primarily live in that light-brownish area. They're the third biggest ehtnic group in the country by the way - after Yoruba and Hausa. Quite impressive I think ;).
I've actually made a couple more slides about Nigeria with pictures of the country as well as a detailed character map of the novel, but I'll spare you I think ;). I'll let out my inner Mad Hatter another day.
For now I'll leave you with this Sherlock video to Ed Sheeran's Photograph, which has had me captivated for the last couple of days:
Click to view... Okay, I lied, there's one more thing, namely this song:
I JUST LOVE IT! It's got the right kind of soothing sadness (I don't care if that's an oxymoron) to it and it makes me go UGGGH every time I hear it. I hope it can do the same for you!
But anyway, that's it now - see you! :D